Corruption-plagued Brazil gets new chief prosecutor

BRASÍLIA: A new chief prosecutor took over on Monday in Brazil to oversee an avalanche of corruption investigations, including against President Michel Temer, and promised that no one would be "above the law".

Raquel Dodge replaced the hard hitting Rodrigo Janot who last week rounded off his dramatic term in office by charging Temer with racketeering and obstruction of justice.

Dodge, 56, was nominated by Temer and some analysts see the changeover as heralding a slowdown of Brazil’s huge "Car Wash" anti-graft operation. Temer has railed repeatedly against what he calls an out of control judiciary, a theme echoed by many in Congress who also have been accused of corruption.

At her swearing in ceremony in Brasilia, attended by Temer, Dodge vowed to "defend democracy" and said that her office would make sure that "no one is above the law and that no one is below the law".

But indicating at the very least a less abrasive approach than Janot, she stressed the need for "harmony" between the different branches of government "as a requirement for the stability of the nation". —